Our Verdict

For

Against

We love just about everything about the King Fuzz from up-and- coming dirt specialists Bigfoot Engineering.

It's made in Britain, its vintage-voiced dirt aims to replicate The Black Keys man Dan Auerbach's epic fuzz tones, and it has a freakin' lion on the front! True bypass and the option of battery or adaptor power only seal the deal.

The King Fuzz's raison d'être is to provide vintage dirt - and lots of it. While the pedal only has two controls, there's a huge range on both the gain and volume dials.

"The King Fuzz is not just highly responsive to tone and volume adjustments on your guitar, but it's voiced just right"

You won't miss a tone control, either: the King Fuzz is not just highly responsive to tone and volume adjustments on your guitar, but it's voiced just right.

A focus on the all-important midrange ensures there's no fizz or mush on any setting. You can get everything from early Sabbath grind through to Black Keys swagger and QOTSA powerchords here, all with convincing amp-like tones.

It makes you want to play scuzzy garage-rock at low gain and monster-truck riffage at high gain - but either way, you'll want to do it loud.

Sure, the King Fuzz isn't the cheapest or most compact stompbox out there, but buying from Bigfoot ensures a lifetime guarantee... And these tones could be the pride of your 'board for some time to come.